Karasu no Nyoubou
|producer = Tsunku |Next = Odaiba Moonlight Serenade 2nd single (1998) }} "Karasu no Nyoubou" (カラスの女房; The Raven's Wife) is Nakazawa Yuko's debut single. The single reached #19 on the weekly Oriconcharts and charted for eleven weeks. It sold 21,200 copies in its first week and 74,700 copies overall, making it her best-selling release. Tracklist #Karasu no Nyoubou #Otonashibashi (音無橋; Soundless Bridge) #Karasu no Nyoubou (Original Karaoke) #Otonashibashi (Original Karaoke) Single Information #Karasu no Nyoubou #*Lyrics: Araki Toyohisa #*Composition: Horiuchi Takao #*Arrangement: Kawamura Eiji #Otonashibashi #*Lyrics: Takina Eiji #*Composition: Horiuchi Takao #*Arrangement: Imaizumi Toshiro TV Performances *1998.08.02 ASAYAN *1998.08.09 ASAYAN *1999.01.03 ASAYAN *2006.04.14 Hello! Pro Hour #4 Concert Performances ;Karasu no Nyoubou *Hello! FIRST LIVE AT SHIBUYA KOHKAIDO *Hello! Project Happy New Year '99 *Morning Musume Summer Event '99 *Hello! Project '99 *Morning Musume Summer-Autumn Event '99 *LIVE!! Summer Nite Town 99 *LIVE & TALK TOUR 2002 Shinshi wa Mini ga Osuki! at studio DREAM MAKER *Nakazawa Yuko Otona no Valentine Fanclub Tour in Seoul *Sharam Q Live Tour 2006 Aki no Ran Zurui "Live Live Live" Trivia * Horiuchi Takao released this song as his 43rd single on November 21st, 1998. He then re-released it as "new version" on his 50th single in 2004 (which was used as the theme song to the detective series "Hagure Keiji Junjou wa"). The new version was also performed at the New Year’s show "NHK Kouhaku Utagassen" by Horiuchi. * The lyrics KARASU mitai ni tondekanaide / nanatsu no kodomo ga koishikutatte is a nod to the douyou song Nanatsu no Ko. * The single was released on Suzuki Kanon's day of birth. Interviews Shortly after the release of Morning Musume's first album, Nakazawa was approached and offered a career as a solo singer in addition to being in the group. The CEO of the group’s agency wanted her to be an enka singer, for which Nakazawa had this to say: " …my manager/agent asked me, “Hey Nakazawa. Why don’t we go back to the office together?” …How scary it is! … So my reaction was, “Oh my goodness. I think he is going to yell at me privately. I am in trouble.” So, I got on a van, which was filled with camera crew, and I immediately thought, “Are they filming ASAYAN?”. Yes, I clearly remember, including the face of the camera guy. … So here I was, at the office. And as I entered into the president’s suite, I saw another camera crew standing by to film me. … Then, suddenly, they told me the news: “Hey Nakazawa, I know you just made a debut as a member of Morning Musume. But we’ll let you debut as a solo singer.” “What?! Me? As a solo singer?” I was excited and elated at first, just during that brief period of time. Then they said, “As an enka singer.”…”What? No way.” I mean, I went through the process of “SharamQ Rock Music Vocalist Audition” and successfully debut as a J-pop singing group, Morning Musume. So why on earth Enka? I was unable to give them my answer right away and I was just crying at that moment because I had no idea what was going on. So I just told them, “I am very sorry but I am unable to give you any answer right now.” And I just went home. I usually don’t consult much with my mother, but this time, I had to ask her opinion. She said, “Are you an idiot? How can you pass up such a wonderful opportunity? There are 50,000 people in this country who are desperate to become a singer and are dying to be in your position right now. And you can debut with Takao Horiuchi’s song. ” … The next day, I told my manager/agent about how I felt, and he said, “Well, if your mind isn’t 100% with this decision, you might as well quit.” That really turned on my competitiveness. I was like, “What he heck is he saying?” His words of not fully following my decision were a bit insulting to me, and I wanted to prove that he was wrong. Maybe he used a reverse psychology on me. Who knows?"https://www.bilibili.com/404/ Nakazawa said in an interview in 2008: "Honestly, I don’t remember what was going on back then. I remember I went to Japanese inns, beer gardens, Japanese bars etc. … I remember my staff was wearing Happi-clothing with a lettering of “Karasu No Nyoubou” on their backs while they were handing out promotional flyers and talking to people, “This is Yuko Nakazawa from Morning Musume. She made a solo debut. Please give her a warm support.” One day, a drunken guy took a flyer out of someone’s hand, made it into a ball and ate it. … Yes, things were a bit chaotic back then." "As for this song no Nyoubou, back then, assuming because of the music TV programs, people were very much concerned with the ranking position on the music charts. As for me, whether it was Morning Musume’s debut single or a second single, it didn’t matter at what position the song was being ranked. But they began talking about “Karasu No Nyoubou” and what position it was going to be placed as it was being released. … my manager/agent Wada at that time made a bold comment saying, “If the song won’t be positioned within 10th, I’m going to shave my head.” … “Karasu No Nyoubou” was placed 19th during its first week of the release. The day after I saw the result, I already knew. I was thinking, “Oh no, it didn’t make it within 10th place.” I’m sure others had the same thing on their minds. At a photo studio in Tokyo, there was a photo shoot of Morning Musume so I was there with other members. They gave me warm words like, “Wow, Yu-chan, you did a great job. We saw the ranking result. That’s really cool.” While I was showered by the congratulatory words, my manager/agent walked in and his head was fully shaved…Oh my goodness, I was so scared! (bitter laughter)"中澤裕子- Solo debut The 10th anniversary SPECIAL DVD References External Links *Discography: Hello! Project (archived), UP-FRONT WORKS, Tsunku.net *Wikipedia: Japanese *Lyrics: Karasu no Nyoubou, Otonashibashi Category:1998 Singles Category:Nakazawa Yuko Singles Category:Debut Single Category:Highest Selling Single Category:1st Generation Singles In Category:Solo Single Category:Longest Charting Single